Social Security Works

The mission of Social Security Works is to protect and improve the economic status of disadvantaged and at-risk populations, and, in so doing, to promote social justice for current and future generations of children as well as young, middle-aged and older adults. Our primary goals for the next round of Social Security legislation are that it,

Protects and improves the economic security of disadvantaged and at-risk populations

Safeguards the economic security of those dependent, now or in the future, on Social Security

Our Social Security system is one of the most popular programs we’ve built as Americans. The reason it is universally beloved is that its benefits are also universal. No matter who you are, or where you come from, Social Security is there for everyone in retirement, or for their children and spouse in the event of death.
There’s just one problem: Some states don’t recognize every marriage. That’s why Senator Patty Murray and Senator Mark Udall have introduced the Social Security and Marriage Equality Act of 2014.
The Social Security and Marriage Equality Act (Or SAME Act) will ensure survivor benefits to any legally married persons regardless of their state of residence or their marriage ceremony location. Current law restricts survivor benefits based on their legal marital status in the state they live in, unfairly excluding LGBT citizens living in states that do not recognize same-sex marriages.
Old-Age Insurance is the most well-known aspect of the Social Security Act, but the Act is intended to protect citizens at any time of incapacitation. The Social Security Survivors Insurance program extends assistance to an eligible family member, often a widow or child, in the event that a worker dies.
Citizens work hard for Social Security benefits with the expectation that they are achieving long-term financial stability not only for themselves, but for their entire family. The death of a spouse is an emotionally straining time, and retirement insecurity should never add to their burden.
This change should be a no-brainer, but many members of Congress continue to oppose equal protection under the law for all married couples. Tell Congress: a marriage is a marriage, and our Social Security system belongs to all of us!

Our Social Security system has been under attack for decades. Since 2010, some members of Congress have been so intent on cutting your earned benefits that they’ve held hostage our nations’ credit, threatened to shut down the government, and forced Congress through a nauseating series of crises. Finally, cries to cut benefits have grown quieter as the program’s enemies realize that the American people will work together to beat back anything they throw at us.
But benefit cuts aren’t the only way to dismantle our Social Security system.
There is already an invisible war under way—and we’re losing!
The Social Security Administration is funded the same way Social Security benefits are—by payroll taxes that all of us pay. Its expenses have no impact on the federal debt, and represent less than 1% of Social Security’s annual expenditures. But Congress has still cut fourteen of the last sixteen SSA budget requests! And now, these cuts are being felt, as the Social Security Administration is forced to shutter dozens of field offices around the country.
That's why we're launching this petition telling Congress: Reopen the three field offices in Little River, Pinellas Park and Quincy, Florida that were closed in 2014.
RJ Eskow wrote on the Huffington Post that “many disabled and elderly Social Security recipients depend on field offices, and the workers in them.” And as Michael Hiltzik of the Los Angeles Times said “They haven’t been able to cut benefits, so they’re doing the next best thing: making it hard for you to know what you’re due, and harder to get it when it comes due.”
The bottom line is, Americans came together to create the Social Security system to provide a basic, reliable foundation for retirement and disability.
Closing field offices and making it more difficult to access benefits information is an attempt to dismantle that foundation. It’s time to stop it.

Our Social Security system has been under attack for decades. Since 2010, some members of Congress have been so intent on cutting your earned benefits that they’ve held hostage our nations’ credit, threatened to shut down the government, and forced Congress through a nauseating series of crises. Finally, cries to cut benefits have grown quieter as the program’s enemies realize that the American people will work together to beat back anything they throw at us.
But benefit cuts aren’t the only way to dismantle our Social Security system.
There is already an invisible war under way—and we’re losing!
The Social Security Administration is funded the same way Social Security benefits are—by payroll taxes that all of us pay. Its expenses have no impact on the federal debt, and represent less than 1% of Social Security’s annual expenditures. But Congress has still cut fourteen of the last sixteen SSA budget requests! And now, these cuts are being felt, as the Social Security Administration is forced to shutter dozens of field offices around the country.
That's why we're launching this petition telling Congress: Reopen the field office in Chelsea, MA that was closed in 2014.
RJ Eskow wrote on the Huffington Post that “many disabled and elderly Social Security recipients depend on field offices, and the workers in them.” And as Michael Hiltzik of the Los Angeles Times said “They haven’t been able to cut benefits, so they’re doing the next best thing: making it hard for you to know what you’re due, and harder to get it when it comes due.”
The bottom line is, Americans came together to create the Social Security system to provide a basic, reliable foundation for retirement and disability.
Closing field offices and making it more difficult to access benefits information is an attempt to dismantle that foundation. It’s time to stop it.

Our Social Security system has been under attack for decades. Since 2010, some members of Congress have been so intent on cutting your earned benefits that they’ve held hostage our nations’ credit, threatened to shut down the government, and forced Congress through a nauseating series of crises. Finally, cries to cut benefits have grown quieter as the program’s enemies realize that the American people will work together to beat back anything they throw at us.
But benefit cuts aren’t the only way to dismantle our Social Security system.
There is already an invisible war under way—and we’re losing!
The Social Security Administration is funded the same way Social Security benefits are—by payroll taxes that all of us pay. Its expenses have no impact on the federal debt, and represent less than 1% of Social Security’s annual expenditures. But Congress has still cut fourteen of the last sixteen SSA budget requests! And now, these cuts are being felt, as the Social Security Administration is forced to shutter dozens of field offices around the country.
That's why we're launching this petition telling Congress: Reopen the three field offices in Barstow, Redlands and Corona, California that were already closed in 2014.
RJ Eskow wrote on the Huffington Post that “many disabled and elderly Social Security recipients depend on field offices, and the workers in them.” And as Michael Hiltzik of the Los Angeles Times said “They haven’t been able to cut benefits, so they’re doing the next best thing: making it hard for you to know what you’re due, and harder to get it when it comes due.”
The bottom line is, Americans came together to create the Social Security system to provide a basic, reliable foundation for retirement and disability.
Closing field offices and making it more difficult to access benefits information is an attempt to dismantle that foundation. It’s time to stop it.

Our Social Security system has been under attack for decades. Since 2010, some members of Congress have been so intent on cutting your earned benefits that they’ve held hostage our nations’ credit, threatened to shut down the government, and forced Congress through a nauseating series of crises. Finally, cries to cut benefits have grown quieter as the program’s enemies realize that the American people will work together to beat back anything they throw at us.
But benefit cuts aren’t the only way to dismantle our Social Security system.
There is already an invisible war under way—and we’re losing!
The Social Security Administration is funded the same way Social Security benefits are—by payroll taxes that all of us pay. Its expenses have no impact on the federal debt, and represent less than 1% of Social Security’s annual expenditures. But Congress has still cut fourteen of the last sixteen SSA budget requests! And now, these cuts are being felt, as the Social Security Administration is forced to shutter dozens of field offices around the country.
That's why we're launching this petition telling Congress: Reopen the four field offices in Amherst, Kingston, The Bronx and Williamsburg, New York that were closed in 2014.
RJ Eskow wrote on the Huffington Post that “many disabled and elderly Social Security recipients depend on field offices, and the workers in them.” And as Michael Hiltzik of the Los Angeles Times said “They haven’t been able to cut benefits, so they’re doing the next best thing: making it hard for you to know what you’re due, and harder to get it when it comes due.”
The bottom line is, Americans came together to create the Social Security system to provide a basic, reliable foundation for retirement and disability.
Closing field offices and making it more difficult to access benefits information is an attempt to dismantle that foundation. It’s time to stop it.

During the recent government shutdown, a group of fifty Republicans banded together to use the crisis they created to call for cuts to our Social Security system. Led by Reid Ribble of Wisconsin, these fifty "Ribble Republicans" sent a letter to House Speaker John Boehner urging him to cut Social Security and Veterans benefits before re-opening the government.
Even though they didn’t get their wish, we need to show them that we won’t forget the Representatives who think Social Security and Veterans benefits cuts are a reasonable ransom demand. That’s why we’re going to deliver your signatures to Rep. Ribble in his district this Thursday.
As Members of Congress are in budget negotiations, they’re watching how we react to any threats to our earned benefits. We can’t let them think we’ll forget their threats to our Social Security system. This is only the beginning.
Rep. Ribble’s ideas about Social Security read like a wish list straight out of the Romney/Ryan play book:
Raising the retirement age
- Slashing annual cost of living adjustments for Social Security, Veterans and other
- benefits with the “Chained CPI”
- Means testing for Social Security recipients